Between a rock and a hard place...

[Mayomi]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello everyone. I have been using this website for the latter part of a year, and it has helped me tremendously on my pursuit to become a PT. That being said, I wanted some opinions from the community here on my current situation.

I graduated undergrad this past year and took up a second part time job as a PT tech while also working in retail. I started at a community college making okay grades, and took around 8 prerequisites towards PT. My lack of motivation and low expectations for myself earned me a subpar 2.8 GPA by the time I was transferring to my 4 year university. After transferring I had reality check and began to understand how competitive PT school was to get into. I began to apply myself more and graduated undergrad with a 3.6 GPA in Exercise Science. During that time I took Organic chemistry, biomechanics, physics, and many other difficult classes, while also working part time and taking on a full time PT internship. I made a plan for myself after graduation and began retaking courses to bring up my prerequisite GPA. there were 3 courses I made C's in and I took 1 in the summer, and just finished the other two this semester. Because of my shortcomings in the past my PTCAS GPA is a 3.1, and prerequisite grade is a 3.15, and the new grades that I received A's in this fall were not processed in time for 3 of the schools I applied, which I think was a big reason I was rejected. I am still waiting on 3 schools, one of which I feel I have a decent shot at getting into, and two others that could be promising. I am trying to stay positive, but I know that I could end up having to wait another year before applying again. Here is where I need your help...

I am trying to stay in the field as much as possible, but that is becoming an issue financially because working as an aide does not pay enough to support myself, and the retail job isn't cutting it either. I now find myself in a position where I can struggle financially, or find a job that may not be in the field of PT, but supports me while I work on my application for next year. The problem with a full-time job is I am limited time during the week, and wouldn't be able to shadow and do other application building extracurriculars to increase my chances of getting admitted. Are there any jobs anyone suggests that pay decent, and also have some sort of application towards PT? My friend may have a clinical research job that may have an opening, but besides that I'm kind of out of luck.

Sorry for the long post, but I felt I needed to provide as much info as possible.

 

[Skyris]

Don't unduly burden yourself trying to squeeze in more PT aide hours/extracurriculars-- that stuff pales in comparison to GPA and GRE at most schools. It looks like you probably already have a few hundred hours (I'm assuming outpatient orthopedic), in which case it would be more desirable anyway to get some experience in a a new setting or two (such as inpatient), even if it's for just 2-3 hours a week totaling 30 hours (assuming you haven't done that already).

Get a job that lets you support yourself. If there is an opportunity, retake a prereq or two at a CC and look for schools that use grade replacement instead of PTCAS pre-req GPA, and/or look at last 60 hours.

 

[Mayomi]

Don't unduly burden yourself trying to squeeze in more PT aide hours/extracurriculars-- that stuff pales in comparison to GPA and GRE at most schools. It looks like you probably already have a few hundred hours (I'm assuming outpatient orthopedic), in which case it would be more desirable anyway to get some experience in a a new setting or two (such as inpatient), even if it's for just 2-3 hours a week totaling 30 hours (assuming you haven't done that already).

Get a job that lets you support yourself. If there is an opportunity, retake a prereq or two at a CC and look for schools that use grade replacement instead of PTCAS pre-req GPA, and/or look at last 60 hours.

Thank you for the response. I have over 800+ hours of observation. 780 of that being in 3 different outpatient ortho clinics, and 20 hours in a subacute and acute hospital

 

[LPCC2010]

Look at jobs in hospitals. I work as a patient transporter full time and do rehab aide work on the weekends. It's a great gig. I've had a lot of great experiences working in transport. You get to see a wide range of patients on different floors in the hospital. It really prepares you for acute care patients as well.

 

[Mayomi]

Look at jobs in hospitals. I work as a patient transporter full time and do rehab aide work on the weekends. It's a great gig. I've had a lot of great experiences working in transport. You get to see a wide range of patients on different floors in the hospital. It really prepares you for acute care patients as well.

Thank you. I will look into that!

 

[Grizzlyman]

Working any longer as an aid will not help you. Any benefit decays real fast. Go get a real job with real experiences that make you better than other candidates. That research position will set you apart.

 

[DPThopeful1859]

I worked as an aide for a while during school, then was lucky to get a position at a PT clinic working front desk. I aide every now and then, but I'm primarily dealing with insurance and scheduling and seeing a different side of PT that I wasn't exposed to working as a tech. Could be an option.

 

[beyoutiful_sunshine]

You already have A LOT of hours. I would just get a little bit more inpatient hours and then look for a job that works better with you financially. At this point, you have so many hours that keeping your aide job is not increasing your chances of getting in, so do what's best for you financially.

 

[Mayomi]

You already have A LOT of hours. I would just get a little bit more inpatient hours and then look for a job that works better with you financially. At this point, you have so many hours that keeping your aide job is not increasing your chances of getting in, so do what's best for you financially.

I agree with this, but at the same time I also know that admissions like to see that reapplicants have strengthened their application. Taking a job that has nothing to do with PT makes me nervous, and the time constraints that exist with a 9-5 job also makes me nervous, because I miss out on time during the work week to stand out next year. Any suggestions on things I could? I have no hours in a skilled nursing facility so I was thinking of looking into volunteering on the weekends

 

[UpDownPT]

I agree with this, but at the same time I also know that admissions like to see that reapplicants have strengthened their application. Taking a job that has nothing to do with PT makes me nervous, and the time constraints that exist with a 9-5 job also makes me nervous, because I miss out on time during the work week to stand out next year. Any suggestions on things I could? I have no hours in a skilled nursing facility so I was thinking of looking into volunteering on the weekends

Having a career will demonstrate personal growth in many skill areas that are necessary for PTs...The soft skills you can develope in communication, leadership, accountabilty, mentorship directly transfer to PT. These are the exact attributes adcom's are looking for. A position that does not allow you to develope looks like you are stuck. If you develope skills you will look like a student that can add a lot to the incoming class. If you just continue in your PT tech role you look exactly like everyone else but older and with red flags.

Be bold and develope yourself in career with responsibility!!!!!

 

[DPThopeful1859]

I think re-taking those classes and making sure your GRE scores are good would be the main priority right now. You have a lot of hours and honestly, if you wanted to get in some more during your application for next year, there isn't a rush. You can always get acclimated to a new job, even if it isn't involved with PT and still be fine. If you really want to do more shadowing hours, once you figure out your job situation, then you can make it work.

 

[beyoutiful_sunshine]

Do you plan to ask the same people for references? If yes then I think it would be nice if they can speak of your improvements. It would be also nice to have someone new as well because you don't know for sure how good your references were.

Improving your application doesn't necessarily mean continue your job as an aide. Actually doing something completely different, like a service trip in Costa Rica might make you stand out more.
Being a PT aide is not the only job that can prepare you for PT school. In fact about every job you will do will prepare you in that it teaches you something.

I'm an international student on a student visa so I'm not allowed to work unless it's on my school's campus (limited to 20hrs/week student job). I work for my school's student support services as a lead math and sciences tutor and it has made me grown SO much !!
I talked A LOT about my job both in my essays and in my interviews because truly it has taught me so many things: patience, compassion, a true understanding/appreciation of people's differences, leadership skills, communication skills and the list is endless. I also only had about 200 observation hours in PT, but I got into the 5 schools I applied to.

Improving your application is about you getting better as an applicant overall. It's about standing out and really working on growing no matter what you do, even if you work at Mc Donald's (where you can learn how to be patient, how to work as part of a team, how to multi-task, how to time manage, etc skills that you will need as a PT).
I understand your concern, but my advice is to not be afraid of doing things outside of PT, you will stand out more (because everybody is a PT aide... like EVERYBODY) and as long as you can speak about how it has impacted you positively than it will definitely be an improvement of your application.
Good luck !!

 

[Mayomi]

You all have been very helpful with your comments. I appreciate it. I have just officially sent in my updated transcripts which include 2 prerequisite C's that are now A's. Hoping this will improve my chances into the schools I am still waiting to hear back from! I am going to start looking for a new job soon. I need a more financially sustaining job,and working endless hours at an outpatient clinic where I am observing a lot of the same pathological conditions is not going to make me application any different than it is now.